West Africa… Why There?

A friend of mine wanted to hear more of my impressions of my first visit to Africa. He also wanted to know why Cote d’Ivoire and or Ghana. He is curious to know, if any, my connections to these places and my decisions to go to those countries rather Senegal for instance.

Simply put, Ivory Coast and Ghana are in West Africa and being an African of the New World, I feel a natural connection to the continent and a deeper familiarity with the region visited. West Africa.

THE DEAL IS…
I wanted to be on the continent for the Millennium. That was 10 years ago when I started to seriously contemplating the idea of visiting Africa. At one point, I did not really care where I landed. I just wanted to set foot on the continent. I explored traveling by ferry from Southern Spain to Morocco among other travel schemes.

Then, Senegal seems to be not too far out of reach if I can only find a cheap flight from either France or Spain. The urge to set foot in Africa took a sharp blow when racist Spaniards started to react violently against North African Migrant workers in Southern Spain. Since, I have not been in Spain for at least 7 years.

Then along came Joel, a Franco-Ivorien that I have met through a mutual acquaintance about four years ago. We fast became friends and since day one he invited me to go to Abidjan. Joel’s urging only rekindled in me the drive to travel to Africa a reality. His encouragement and constants urging became my the goal to accomplish in 2007.

Visiting Ghana came late into the picture. Not until when I was frantically looking for an affordable airfare that Ghana became part of my travel plan. Since the only direct flight from the New York to West Africa flies to Ghana, I instantly started to play with multiple destinations and dates that would include a couple of days in Ghana.

Luckily, I founf an airfare that would cost me a couple hundred dollars my airfare just by staying over in Accra for a couple days with connecting flight between Ghana & Ivory Coast. I was too happy to grab that fare and run with it. Then I remember meeting a couple of cool brothers over the summer and we were talking about traveling to Africa, unbeknown to me that one of then have been to Accra numerous time and insisted that I make it to Ghana and that he knows just the right person to put in touch there. Weeks later, I met Brian whom I have met earlier during the summer month and he was with this man. Guess who, Alwyn, the very brother he told me about. We talked for a short while and he extended his invitation for me to come to Accra and that he will be there just about the same time I was planning to be in West Africa. With so much things falling into place, I was only convinced that it was my time to go back Home. Home to Africa.

THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION…
Being Haitian, I always feel that Africa is home. Never do I doubt that. I just know that I would make it there someday, somehow. I just know and believe I would one day.

In Haiti, there is a large majority of us who believe in this Vodou tenet that once we pass on our spirits travel back to its resting place. LAN GINEN, Haitian Kreyol for what is today Guinea a country in West Africa of course but this belief has much indept significance than the actual land/country to which . This idea of Ginen as our souls’ paradise / heaven, isn’t it profound how this notion of Lan Ginen does not have a hell like opposite as in Christianity’s heaven and hell notion. Go Figure!

LAN GINEN…
Roughly translated “In Guinea or There in Guinea” for most Haitians is our Spiritual Home. That is where we believe that our spirits travel back to reunite with our ancestors in Africa. Although it has been said that Haitians has strong cultural and worship habits with the people of Benin. Where the practice of Vodou in both places could be uncannily similar.

Needless to say that I always believe, that one day, I will make it home to Africa, literally, dead or alive. I am just happy that recently I was able to make it there alive.

Knowing what I know about me and seeing what I’ve seen presented to me (particularly a certain dance on YouTube), I think I’m going to have to take, um, a more exploratory solo trip before we go hang out there together. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s reputation but my own! *LOL!*